LAHORE: Opener Shan Masood, uncapped fast bowler Haris Rauf and four spinners were named in a 16-man squad named by national selectors on Wednesday for Pakistan’s upcoming three-Test home series against Australia starting early next month.
Three changes have been made to the squad that played the last Test series against Bangladesh in November-December last year.
Right-armer Haris, who was in the side for the South Africa and Zimbabwe Tests in 2021 but hasn’t played any Test match yet, has been picked to replace off-spinner Bilal Asif while left-handed Shan, who last played in New Zealand in the 2020-21 season, has taken over from fellow opener Abid Ali, who is completing his rehabilitation after being diagnosed with Acute Coronary Syndrome.
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah has been demoted to the five-member reserve pool.
The inclusion of four spinners in the squad signals the pitches being offered to Australia will likely to be spin-friendly, as per the policy of the PCB which it adopted in the past against the touring sides of Australia, New Zealand and England, whose most players have remained suspect on spinning tracks.
Four spinners included in 16-player squad
World-renowned batter Babar Azam will continue to captain Pakistan against Pat Cummins-led Australia in the series which also includes three ODIs and one-off T20, to be played after the end of the third Test in Lahore on March 25.
The first Test will be played in Rawalpindi from March 4-8 followed by the second in Karachi from March 12-16.
The selected spinners include off-spinner Sajid Khan, leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood and two left-arm orthodox spinners Nouman Ali and Mohammad Nawaz.
These spinners lack experience sharing among them just 14 Tests with Zahid yet to make a Test debut as he has only played one T20 International. Nouman is the leading bowler in the quartet with seven Tests in which he has captured 19 wickets at the average of 29.40. Sajid, who has featured in just four Tests, played a leading role for Pakistan in his last series against Bangladesh where he took 16 wickets in two Tests averaging an impressive 15.00.
Nawaz, possessing good experience in white-ball format has played just three Tests snaring five wickets.
In the fast bowling attack, in-form Shaheen will have the company of all-rounder pacers Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf besides paceman Haris Rauf.
The batting department is blessed with experienced batters like Babar, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Shan Masood, Imam-ul-Haq and fighting wicket-keeper/batter Mohammad Rizwan.
The Test players who are not involved in the ongoing HBL Pakistan Super League will assemble in Karachi on Feb 16 for a training camp at the National Stadium. Surprisingly the camp is being held in Karachi instead of Rawalpindi where the first Test will be staged.
Commenting on the Test squad, chief selector Mohammad Wasim said: “We have opted for consistency for the important home series against Australia and changes have only been made where absolutely necessary. This is to give the boys confidence, reward them for their impressive performances in the longer version of the game in 2021 and continue to build the side for the future.
“These are the best available, most talented and in-form players in the domestic circuit. I am confident they will put up an impressive performance against a formidable Australia side.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) named former Test off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq as head coach with former Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait as fast bowling coach and Pakistan batting legend Mohammad Yousuf as batting coach.
Tait and Yousuf replaced South Africa’s Vernon Philander and Australia’s Matthew Hayden, respectively who were hired by the PCB prior to last year’s T20 World Cup.
The PCB has confirmed Saqlain will continue as head coach for another 12 months, and also announced the appointments of Tait for 12 months and Yousuf for the Australia series.
Squad:
Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood
Reserves: Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah
Player support personnel: Mansoor Rana (manager), Saqlain Mushtaq (head coach), Shahid Aslam (assistant to head coach), Mohammad Yousuf (batting coach), Shaun Tait (bowling coach), Cliffe Deacon (physio), Drikus Saaiman (trainer/strength and conditioning coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Emmad Hameed (media and digital manager), Col Usman Anwari (security manager), Talha Ejaz (analyst), Malang Ali (masseur).
Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2022
